The Reserve Bank of India has now officially stated that 99.3 per cent of the demonetised currency notes of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 were returned by Indians to banks and exchanged for the new currency notes. Demonetisation was initiated by the government in November 2016 on the ground that the amount of unaccounted wealth in the country would be exposed. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the loot of 70 years by many people would be exposed. So the basic objective of demonetisation seems to have been squandered since almost the entire currency in the country was returned officially to the banks.
It would appear that there was no black money, that is, unaccounted-for wealth in the country or the same had been exchanged for new currency through various means. The people of the country went through hardship for almost four months standing in long queues waiting to withdraw or exchange their own money. Farmers and small scale businessmen were the worst sufferers because their businesses came to a grinding halt. About 105 persons died waiting in queues at banks for their money.
All of the above only shows demonetisation was not necessary. The policy definitely was not clearly thought-through and the woes of the citizens were not addressed. The government should be more careful before introducing policies that inconvenience citizens and cripple the economy.
Rajendra Aneja, Mumbai
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